The Witch's Apprentice
by DaringDauntless
Summary: From the moment Lizzie was born, she was destined to become a witch. Follow her throughout her years of training under one of the most dangerous witches in all of Pendle's history, and find out how this naive young girl of thirteen would grow up to become Bony Lizzie.
1. Changes

**Hello hello hello and welcome to The Witch's Apprentice! This story will be a collection of cohesive short stories, that details the training of Elizabeth Malkin, better known as Bony Lizzie. As of right now, this fanfiction is rated T for some violence and gore to come in later chapters. Unlike all of my previous works, this story will not be containing any graphic adult content, So without further ado, let's get on with the story!**

I held my eyes shut against the howling wind, whipping past my ears and stinging my cheeks with its harsh chill. Fear pounded through my heart as my mind swam with terror, as if desperately trying to wake itself from the terrible nightmare unfolding. I could hear my blood pumping through my head, pounding in my skull like a drum. Goldshaw Booth was a large section of Pendle, so large in fact that a person's nearest neighbor could be miles away. Despite the bitter cold of the County January, I walked slowly. It seemed as if my life could not get any worse. My mam was dead, my sister had gone off to live with relatives in Roughlee, and I had been sent off to live with my grandmother who would train me to become a witch. Soon, it began to snow, falling in delicate white flakes, covering what remained from the previous night's storm with a soft sheer blanket. I always loved the snow and would play in it often as a child. Agnes, my sister, and I would always have snowball fights atop of Pendle hill and build snowmen by the large oak tree just outside of Witch Dell. It saddened me to think about that chapter of my life coming to an end, and I was certain that soon there would be no time to frolic in the snow, perhaps I wouldn't even desire to do it anymore at all. For the first time in all of the thirteen winters I'd seen, the sight of snow sickened me.

It wasn't long before I spotted a light in the distance, growing larger the closer I came towards it. A moth moving toward a flame that eventually would consume it. I managed to make out the shape of a cottage though the snow which had begun to fall faster by the minute, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. I was certain I'd catch my death if I stayed outside much longer, so I quickened my pace, not stopping until I reached Mother Malkin's front door. I rapped on the door three times, in a loud steady rhythm. The door swung inward almost immediately, and my blood ran cold as I caught a glimpse what stood just behind it. I had half expected Mother Malkin to answer the door herself, but instead was I met by an abnormally large man with too many teeth to fit in his mouth. I had no time to introduce myself or to state my business before he brutishly took me by the forearm and pulled me inside. Mother Malkin's cottage was filthy, weeks of dirt and grime caked the floor, and the smell of mold and mildew permeated the air. It unnerved me to be standing in such squalor, even though we didn't have much Mam took pride in her home. I noticed a small piled in the corner of the room, and upon closer inspection I realized that it was a pile of bones, some were undoubtedly human, and some were small enough to belong to a child. The metallic tang of blood wafted under my nose, causing me to gag and have to use the side of the mantle to support myself, I felt faint.

Although it must have only been a few minutes, it felt like hours before I finally lifted my head to take in my surroundings once more. Strangely, I remembered something my Mam once told me, it was about all things being born with natural instincts. Just like a baby bird wanting to take flight, something deep inside told me to follow the grotesque scent. I inhaled deeply, and eventually was led into the next room. A fire blazed in the mantle piece, above it hang a large black pot filled with a rich red liquid that looked as if it was just about to boil. That was the blood for sure, the sight of it almost brought me to tears. I sniffed again, and sensed that someone was right behind me. I heard the familiar _click click_ of pointed shoes and a voice say " Well girl, looks like your training begins tonight."

 **I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story and that you stay tuned for the next chapter, which will be hopefully be coming to you very soon. I wanted to have this posted for Halloween and I wish there was more for you guys. My recovery has been a slow one and I hope you guys can bear with me as I heal and get everything sorted out once again.**

 **Check out my profile for updates on all my other fanfictions (including this one)! So as always,** **review/follow/favorite N' all that Jazz!**

 **PS: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

 **\- DaringDauntless XOXOXO**


	2. First Lesson

**Hi everyone! Here is the next chapter! I apologize greatly for the wait, it's been an uphill battle since the surgery. Warning this chapter has so references to torture and violence! Hope you enjoy!**

" Hold out your hand" Mother Malkin commanded. I stared at her dumbly, with both my hands still knotted up into the sides of my skirts, shaking from fear and nerves. She saw my hesitation, and glared at me. " Be you deaf girl!" She snarled, seizing my left arm and gripping it tightly, just enough to force open my clenched fist. Mother Malkin wasted no time in producing two thumb bones from the pocket of her blood spattered apron. I watched her in horror as she held them up to the light, the bones were pure white and they seemed to be almost glowing in the light of the roaring fire.

Despite my fears, I couldn't help but be curious of what was to become of them, but although I was curious, I still did not want to touch them. Before I could protest the delicate bones were pressed into my palm, and my fingers automatically closed around them as if they had a mind of their own. Immediately my eyes widened and my pulse begin to race. I felt hot and cold at the same time, with ice at my finger tips and fire in my veins. I found myself drowning in a purple ocean darkness, waves of hushed voices crashed around me. I was swept under by the current, head just below the crest of the waves, around me were spirits who wrapped their cold fingers around my throat, suffocating me and pulling me further under the black waters. Yet somehow I felt free, easy, and weightless like I had woken up from a good night's rest.

The room distorted and its image rippled like a lake when a stone is dropped into its waters, melting away into an entirely different scene. I was surprised to find that I no longer was in Mother Malkin's filthy cottage but instead looking down into a room as if I was hovering above, looking down from the sky, circling like a hawk. The room's walls were lined with stone and they glistened with damp and rot, chains and instruments of torture lined the walls, and the room was rank with death and freshly spilled blood. Below me a voice cried out begging for mercy, the sound barely heard over the snap of a whip against flesh.

I had never seen this battered and chained woman before in my life, but I knew her story well. It was almost like reading from a book. Rowena Mouldheel was born September the twelfth and she was twenty three years old, the youngest of five sisters. She died there, from loss of blood and asphyxiation, later her thumbs were cut from her body. A blood curdling scream erupted from her mouth and blood gushed from between her lips onto the front of her prisoners tunic. I startled and lost concentration causing the bones to slip from my fingertips and clatter to the floor. How long had I been in this trance? Hastily, I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my sleeve.

Mother Malkin stood there in stunned silence, studying me as if I had done something incredible. "Whose were they child?" She asked finally, pursing her lips in impatience. I didn't answer at first, and I stared down at my pointy shoes, somehow I was ashamed of what I had just done. " How did they die?" She prodded again, leaving me no choice but to answer.

"They belonged to Rowena Mouldheel" I say voice barely a whisper, the name tasting sour and metallic on my tongue. I swallowed, attempting to gather my wits for what I was about to say next.

"And."

" You took her thumbs and crushed her chest with stones, like they do at trials." I had answered her question but I knew more, so much more. "She was twenty two, born on September the twelfth, she had a son with a man named Jacob Taylor, but the child died shortly after birth, she was a powerful scryer..." I spat out this information and more, speaking a mile a minute, I would have certainly gone on for hours if Mother Malkin didn't stop me.

" That'll do Lizzie...that'll do" She said with a cold smile that chilled me to my core. My training as a witch had begun.

 **Hope you enjoyed! I am doing a lot better but I am still not myself and haven't been able to edit as much as I should be. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but I don't want to make any promises that I cannot keep. I Am Thorne has three more chapters, all are written but they need to be edited before I post them. This story has the next few chapters outlined and or written but again need to be polished up and edited before I post them. Thankyou so so much for sticking with me these past few months it's greatly appreciated! I promise that I have not abandoned any of my stories despite the gaps that may be happening between updates.**

 **Check out my profile for updates on all my other fanfictions (including this one)! So as always,** **review/follow/favorite N' all that Jazz!**

 **\- DaringDauntless XOXOXO**

 **PS: Happy Thanksgiving!**


	3. Scryers

**Who's excited for the release of the new Starblade Chronicles Book, because I sure am! I know it's been a while since an update but here it is! Hope you enjoy!**

The ball was made of clear crystal and was a perfect sphere, some nine inches in diameter, its surface reflecting the faces of myself and the other two women who sat huddled around it. Next to me, Mother Malkin sat forward in her chair, hair dangling in tangled tresses in front of her face, her blue eyes twinkling as they peered excitedly at the glass ball. Morganthe the scryer, seemed somewhat less interested, her mouth opening in a wide yawn as she looked across the table at the both of us. She had been sitting directly opposite of us on a long bench and was a silver-haired woman of advanced years, her faded silk robe wrapped tightly around her bony shoulders.

"Well, Morganthe," said Mother Malkin. "What murky deeds do your old eyes see in the glass?"

" It is not within the glass that I see, it is within the child's face." She said shaking her head like what she had said was common knowledge. The old woman beckoned me closer, and soon i was seated beside her. "Do you not believe me?" She asked gently with a sweet smile. " That is alright Lizzie, for I can see further into your mind than you believe I can." How did she know my name? I felt the color slowly drain from my face, perhaps this woman was legitimate.

" I can tell exactly the kinds of things you need to improve your life and fulfil your destiny, I see what is not of the physical world but instead lies within. Tell me what you would like to know?" Morganthe said as she ran her finger across my forehead, tracing unknown and invisible shapes and patterns.

" What does the future hold!" Mother Malkin demanded, she had told me before how she never had any patience with scryers. The silver haired woman waved her off and turned back to me.

"What can I help you with my darling?" She asked. I opened my mouth to tell her how I didn't know but was cut short by her voice once more. "Wait, don't tell me, let me take a look at you." She murmured placing both of her gnarled and frigid hands on my cheeks.

" You are so beautiful my child, and your face speaks volumes without any words leaving your lips. I can see you are strong and powerful, but yet you are not outwardly so, it is a subtle power one that a chin like yours denotes to people who seek that knowledge..." I stared at her hard, trying not to laugh in her face, this was surely garbage. Unlike Mother Malkin, I agreed to come and find the truth, not to be complemented.

" Strong brow, that is a symbol of awareness and intelligence. You are smart my dear girl, smarter than your superiors think. Beware, the intelligence found within you can be a wonderful gift but also a most hideous curse. Yet, no need to fear, for above your lip shows the true nature of your heart. It is gentle and sensitive to its surroundings, be cautious who you allow into this heart, it is a gorgeous thing and it should not be wasted. I can see it slowly decaying, blacking by magic which may one day consume you, rendering your heart to be nothing but a heavy stone knocking around inside your chest."

I swallow and think of the mark below my left breast that stretches across on of my ribs. A star, that darkens every day. Yesterday I discovered a faint ring growing around it, it frightened me to think of the day it would become a fully formed pentacle.

" You have a strong chin and a strong nose, it denotes a sense of purpose, you have a very strong sense of purpose and somewhere within you lies the answer to what that purpose is. The future is not set in stone, you have a chance to escape the dark path you are on..."

" How long will it take for her to be consumed?" Mother Malkin asked voice seeping with worry.

" I'd give it until her twenty sixth birthday." Morganthe said sadly " One decision will influence this change, it is not clear but I can see it involves a child who has yet to be born."

With that she turned to me again, and continued to read my face as if it was a book. " You have bright and shining eyes. I can see that this leads to a past, a past that tells me a lot about you, seems that you were quite a handful as a little one were you not?" She asked with a laugh causing a red flush to rise to my cheeks. " It is alright you were well loved by a mother who did not want this future for you, and one day you will do the same and fail. Yet I am puzzled by one thing, I see a child in your future but it must be a younger version of you, for never before have i seen such a beautiful child of his?"

I blinked confused on what had just transpired, Mother Malkin began to chuckle darkly.

" I can see such magic in your eyes, there are things that tell me where your weaknesses lie, they do not affect you in the way you perceive them to. I think a spell of protection is in order, surely it will ruin her."

" I want nothing of the sort!" Shrieked Mother Malkin furiously snatching me up and heading towards the door. " She will be the most powerful witch in Pendle someday, mark this well." She added before tossing a coin at the woman and hastily pulling me through the front door.

" It is not her, but she will become her!" Morganthe shouted at our backs and we set off into the night.

 **Hope you enjoyed! I am doing a lot better but I am still not myself and haven't been able to edit as much as I should be. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but I don't want to make any promises that I cannot keep. I Am Thorne has three more chapters, all are written but they need to be edited before I post them. This story has the next few chapters outlined and or written but again need to be polished up and edited before I post them. Thankyou so so much for sticking with me these past few months it's greatly appreciated! I promise that I have not abandoned any of my stories despite the gaps that may be happening between updates.**

 **Check out my profile for updates on all my other fanfictions (including this one)! So as always,** **review/follow/favorite N' all that Jazz!**

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


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